The WESTLAND CENTER Sears held on to the bitter end. The store, which was the last operational Sears in Michigan, went dark in August 2021. It had anchored the shopping hub for over 23 years.
Photo from Namdar Realty Group
WESTLAND CENTER
West Warren Road and North Wayne Road
Wayne County (Westland), Michigan
Michigan's Motor City was quick to adapt to the enclosed shopping mall concept. By late 1964, three were in operation in the metropolitan area. In order of their dedication, these were PONTIAC MALL {in Oakland County}, MACOMB MALL {in Roseville} and LIVONIA MALL {in Livonia}.
The J.L. Hudson Company, via their Shopping Centers, Incorporated subsidiary, had developed two directionally-named malls in an open-air format. The third project would be fully-enclosed and, like the two previous "land" malls, be designed by master architect Victor Gruen. Assistance on the WESTLAND project would be provided by Detroit's Louis G. Redstone Associates.
WESTLAND CENTER was constructed on 66 acres, located 23 miles west of downtown Detroit. At the shopping center's July 1963 groundbreaking, the site was in an unincorporated section of Wayne County known as Nankin Township. In order to keep the city of Livonia from annexing their community, local citizens voted to establish their own incorporated city. Westland, named after the newly-completed WESTLAND CENTER, came into being in May, 1966.
A mall-wide dedication was held on July 29, 1965. Among forty-four charter tenants were Thom McAn Shoes, Winkelman's ladies' wear, Himelhoch's ladies wear, Westland Drug, Hughes Hatcher Suffrin men's wear, a 2-level (42,000 square foot) S.S. Kresge 5 & 10 and (19,500 square foot) Kroger supermarket.
Detroit-based J.L. Hudson anchored WESTLAND CENTER with a 4-level (354,000 square foot) department store. The shopping complex was a tri-level structure, with a Mall Level being its main floor. There was also a small second story mezzanine overlooking the East Court. A basement, or Concourse Level, ran beneath this area.
Fourteen works of art decorated courts and concourses. "Column" by George Rickey, stood in the East Court. Other sculptural works included "The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg" and "Jack & the Beanstalk," by Samuel Kashwan, and "Acrobats" by Earl Krentzin.
The Wayne Amusement Company Quo Vadis Theater opened, as an across-the-street outparcel, on June 22, 1966. In 1968, a rooftop restaurant was reconfigured as the Penthouse I & II twin cinema. Eventually, five auditoriums would be in operation at the complex.
WESTLAND CENTER encountered competition from three regional malls in nearby Livonia; WONDERLAND CENTER (1959) {3 miles northeast}, LIVONIA MALL (1964) {6.4 miles northeast} and, eventually, LAUREL PARK PLACE MALL (1989) {4.9 miles northwest}. FAIRLANE TOWN CENTER (1976) {8.4 miles southeast, in Dearborn} was also too close for comfort.
The first addition to WESTLAND was completed in the mid-1970s. Kroger, on the west end, was demolished. The original West Court extended into a new West Wing, with a 2-level (177,100 square foot) J.C. Penney at its end. This store was dedicated on October 6, 1976.
The next expansion was built on the mall's southeast corner. The project added two inline stores and a 1-level (65,000 square foot), Illinois-based MainStreet. This store welcomed first shoppers on November 5, 1987. The third mall addition, built onto the West Wing, brought a 2-level (188,700 square foot) Sears, which began business on October 25, 1997.
Meanwhile, the MainStreet chain had been acquired by Milwaukee-based Kohl's. All stores, including the WESTLAND location, received Kohl's nameplates on March 19, 1989. The WESTLAND store was eventually expanded to 89,900 square feet.
The complex received a major face lift in the year 2000. It's Hudson's was rebranded a Chicago-based Marshall Field's in August 2001 and as a Macy's in September 2006. The retail facility now encompassed approximately 1,051,600 leasable square feet and contained eighty-seven stores and services.
WESTLAND CENTER was acquired by Atlanta-based Gregory Greenfield & Associates in June 2003. In June 2010, the complex was sold to the Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Company. Syracuse's Spinoso Real Estate Group was enlisted to handle its management and leasing.
In late 2016, a joint venture of Great Neck, New York's Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management acquired the mall. In January 2017, Macy's announced that its WESTLAND CENTER store would be closing. The store went dark on March 18th. Sears pulled up stakes on August 15, 2021, leaving J.C. Penney and Kohl's as the mall's two surviving anchors.
Sources:
The Detroit Free Press
Commentary by Darius Wilder
Wayne County, Michigan tax assessor website
www.cinematreaures.org
www.westlandcenter.com
www.waterwinterwonderland.com
https://namdarrealtygroup.com
"Westland Center" article on Wikipedia
